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Ok, so there’s frost on the ground, it’s dark at 4:30pm and there’s talk of more snow… You could be forgiven for not putting those new patio doors at the top of your priority list.  In fact if you’re anything like me, you don’t so much as venture into the back garden between October and May, but trust me, come the odd day or two of British summertime, you’ll wish you’d planned ahead!

Picture it now; smart new double glazed patio doors leading directly onto your lawn.  This year you’ll enjoy serene evenings with just the summer breeze and the sound of the dusk symphony from the song thrush.  You can be looking out through your patio doors at the frosty mornings, the drizzled afternoons and the snowy winter evenings whilst enjoying all the extra heat that you may have been losing before choosing double glazing.
 
The rate this year is flying by, summer will be here before you know it… better get stuck in on the weeding then!

Accidents happen and windows get broken for all sorts of reasons. The invention of double glazing and reinforced glass, has meant that our glazing is no longer as fragile as it once was, but it’s still far from infallible. Thankfully, replacing broken windows is no longer the chore it used to be either.
Whether you’ve suffered a break-in or a football though the patio door, you can now order replacement windows, glass, frames and even arrange fitting, online and all from the comfort of your own home.

We all know that the English summer is a rare and wonderful thing; however it is because it is so temperamental we often forget to plan for it. After weeks of rain in the middle of July, just when we’ve given up on the idea of summer altogether, suddenly the sun makes a glorious appearance, all is well with the world and we all dive out into the garden to enjoy it. It’s only when you are sitting on the patio, marvelling in the joy of it all, that you remember a very similar day last year, when you decided that patio doors would be a fantastic improvement to your home.

Thankfully installing patio doors is not the stress we often assume it is. Usually it can be completed in just one day! Again, given the surprise element of the English weather this is just as well - no one wants a gaping hole in their property when the heavens decide to open again!

Why so SAD?

In the last article, I mentioned that, by putting a bit of thought into the positioning of your windows and doors, you can maximise the light levels in your home. And, as most people are aware by now, there is a strong link between increased levels of natural light and improvement in both physical and emotional health.

Sunlight is vital for your body to make good use of its Vitamin D stores, the vitamin responsible for strong bones. Lack of Vitamin D in adults can also lead to muscle weakness.

As far as emotional health is concerned, well, there aren’t many people around who haven’t now heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. The symptoms of SAD are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain due to lack of natural sunlight. The disorder usually happens in the winter, because the shortened days affect the hypothalamus of the brain. The first line of treatment is to have light therapy by sitting in front of special lamps for a short period each day, and some folk need the extra support of anti-depressant medication for a while.

Wouldn’t it be preferable to avoid the disorder as much as is possible by ensuring that you don’t get it in the first place?

Did You Get Out Your Compass?

By clever placement of your windows, you can maximise the amount of light that floods into your home. Obviously, this is only possible in a new build or as part of a large reconstruction job, but it is possible.

As you might expect, south facing windows provide lots of direct daylight all day long, and north facing windows provide shaded light. But its not only south facing windows that do the trick - east and west facing windows also allow in lots of daylight, with less direct rays either in the morning or evening. East facing windows are best for helping you to balance your day/night rhythms.

Other window-ways of increasing the amount of natural daylight coming into your home include: putting in patio doors or French windows; putting in a skylight (particularly useful in internal rooms that have no natural light at all); replacing your current windows and doors with larger versions.

If these changes, however large a job they might be, can help you to avoid being SAD, they’re surely worth consideration?

If you are considering installing light therapy |(that’s windows!) take a look at our home page where you will find a double glazing site with ethics!